Hosts Russia scored a trio of second half goals to all but seal the first spot in the 2018 World Cup’s Round of 16 with a 3-1 win over Egypt on Tuesday in Saint Petersburg.

The loss means Egypt is 0-2, the Pharoahs unable to find momentum despite the return of Mohamed Salah. Egypt needs a wild combination of factors to stay alive for the knockout rounds, and is likely heading home.

Salah won and converted a penalty for Egypt, while Denis Cheryshev, Artem Dzyuba, and an Egyptian own goal accounted for Russia’s goals.

Marco Silva‘s men went nickname-appropriate, refusing to leave the Reds’ lead alone until Miguel Britos won a 1v1 battle with Simon Mignolet to prod Richarlison’s rocket home in stoppage time (Multiple Liverpool-supporting friends texted wildly about obstruction and offside, so probably should be noted).

Stefano Okaka gave Watford an eighth minute lead, and Abdoulaye Doucouré made it 2-1 before half only to see the Reds claim a 3-2 lead with two goals in three second-half minutes.

Of all the things expected from Stamford Bridge on Saturday, it’s safe to say the reigning champions going down 3-0 and finishing with nine men were not part of the plan.

Sam Vokes scored twice and Stephen Ward scored a stunner as the Clarets built a 3-0 lead against 10-man Chelsea, down a man thanks to a 14th minute challenge from Gary Cahill. Substitute striker Alvaro Morata made it 3-1 before Cesc Fabregas was sent off, then Morara assisted David Luiz to make it 3-2.

This was perhaps the biggest surprise of the day given the newly-promoted side’s status as visitors to a Palace side which finished last season red hot behind its attack. Instead Steve Mounie scored twice to join a Joel Ward own goal as Town ruined Frank De Boer‘s Palace opener.

Pep Guardiola‘s club didn’t have its finishing boots for most of the match, but looked very much the well-organized and possession-oriented unit. A plucky day that will give Brighton hope, Man City fans will just look to the next test.

Rodriguez then curled an effort inches wide of the far post with Begovic beaten as the Baggies continued to push for the opener.

West Brom deservedly took the lead just after the half hour mark as Chris Brunt‘s inswinging free kick from the right found Hegazy at the back post and the Egyptian defender headed home superbly on his Premier League debut.

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With Arsenal and Leicester staging a Friday thriller before Liverpool and Watford staged a dramatic 3-3 draw early Saturday, the Premier League did not let up with the drama when the 10 a.m. ET matches kicked off.

Gary Cahill was sent off for a studs-up tackle, and Sam Vokes has a paid of goals to go with Stephen Ward‘s stunner — they’re all stunners in this case — as the reigning champions trail by three (!!!) at the break.

Crystal Palace 0-2 Huddersfield Town

An own goal was met by a Steve Mounie marker within a three-minute span to give the newly-promoted visitors “scenes” at Selhurst Park.

Everton 1-0 Stoke City

The Potters had the better of the half, but Wayne Rooney has the run of the halftime roost with a nodded-home opener just before the break.

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West Brom is an interesting case. With Tony Pulis leading the way, the Baggies have not truly flirted with relegation since their 17th-place finish in 2014 that saw them finish just three points above the drop. But with finishes of 13th, 14th, and 10th since then, what exactly defines a successful season for the Baggies?

Premier League obscurity is not a bad thing anymore. With the massive amounts of cash that come with a spot in the English top flight, a long stretch of bottom-half finishes could see the club amass money to eventually become a major player in the market. Clearly, West Brom is biding its time until the club can make a serious move, although the risky acquisition of Jay Rodriguez proves ambition. However, with teams constantly improving around them, the Baggies did little business this summer, which is worrying.

Best, worst case scenarios – The most Baggies fans can usually hope for is Premier League safety, but did last season’s 10th-placed finish change the expectations? Growth is always what any club hopes to achieve, whether it be short-term or long-term, and now fans will be looking for a top-half spot. The Baggies have just one other Premier League top-half finish ever, coming in 2012/13 just before the relegation scare. It would seem the best-case scenario would be for West Brom to match that achievement with hopes of long-term growth from there.

Worst-case would see this club relegated. There is no true star-power on the squad, and while Tony Pulis has a steady ship currently, it’s not hard to envision a few poor results spiraling things out of control.

Star Player: Matt Phillips — With Nacer Chadli struggling for consistency on a team that utilizes the flanks, Matt Phillips is the engine to the machine. With nine assists last season to lead the team in his first season with the Baggies, Phillips is a critical part of a team that doesn’t attack a whole lot.

Unfortunatley, Phillips tweaked his hamstring in preseason, and according to manager Tony Pulis, it could be related to repeated back problems the 26-year-old struggles with. If those two problems keep him out for any significant amount of time, West Brom will have to lean on Chadli, who flashes brilliance at times but also tends to disappear quite often. That was evident last season when he made 31 Premier League appearances, but only completed the full 90 minutes 10 times. This team needs Phillips.

Coach’s Corner: Tony Pulis — Pulis has provided a steady presence wherever he goes. He locks teams down, turns them into a disciplined machine, and grinds out results. West Brom sorely needed his presence when he arrived, and now growth seems attainable. The 59-year-old doesn’t bring an exciting style of play, but occasionally the excitement arrives in the surprising results. Last season, the Baggies took care of business against teams below them and upset Arsenal down the stretch.

PST Predicts: The key this season is to stay healthy and avoiding long stretches of failure. If Phillips is indeed injured for a while, there’s not much depth for the Baggies to fall back on. Most worrying is the nine-match winless run to finish the season last year, which featured seven losses. Often, that can be a harbinger of how things will go the following campaign, especially considering the squad hardly turned over this summer. It would be great to see Tony Pulis take this team into the top half two years in a row, but more likely they will end up looking over their shoulders in 14th.